Documents leaked to the French national newspaper Liberation,
reveal that the government there intends to use the threat
of a swine flu pandemic to overhaul legal protections for citizens.

According to documents provided to the daily by
a judges' union, the plan would extend the period police can
keep a suspect in detention without charge or a hearing before
a judge to up to six months, reports the Agence
France-Presse.

The plan also involves denying suspects access
to a lawyer for up to 24 hours, holding more secret trials and
trying children in adult courts.

The original article from Liberation
is available to subscribers only, however, there is a commentary
piece on the story at this link.
A rough Google translation of the commentary is available here.

Civil liberties advocates in France have charged
that the documents show an intention on behalf of the government
to commit “liberticide,” and have called on the
French Justice Minister to condemn and scrap the plans.

According to a leaked
internal document singed by the French Health Minister
and the Minister of the Interior, the program would be focused
around regional vaccination centers and would be carried out
by H1N1 injection teams, completely bypassing medical establishments
and GP’s.

According to the document, schoolchildren will also be vaccinated
by mobile injection squads who will travel from school to school,
covering the entire country. Babies from 6 months old will also
be given the shot.

To date just fifteen people have died of swine flu related
complications in France.